


Disappointing my kids.

by mollynoble



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canon Compliant, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Clint adopts Wanda, Clint and Scott become dad friends, Clint isn't interested, Kinda, POV Clint Barton, Sam does not appreciate free entertainment, Steve gives good speech, some bad language words
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-10
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-06-07 15:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6810583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mollynoble/pseuds/mollynoble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint took a breath before answering, he knew what was coming but he hadn't made up his mind on how he was gonna answer. He knew logically he should stay out of this mess, but how did you say no when Captain America asked for help?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cap's Call

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks go to Rachael and Hrafnsvaengr for the beta, you guys are the best!

Clint was rewiring the hall light when his phone buzzed. It was only going to be matter of time until it happened, he’d been waiting since he’d watched the explosion in Vienna on the news. He was more surprised it had taken this long, he figured the hunt for Steve's pal would be an all hands on deck situation. But they’d brought him in without him, one big impressive chase Clint had definitely _not_ hacked satellites to watch. But of course there was still drama that he really didn’t want to get dragged into.

He was a simple man. All this political shit, the Accords, it went over his head; hell, he’d never actually finished high school. Or at least that's what he would say if someone asked his opinion on the matter, which no one had. No one ever thought to ask him, well besides Nat and Laura, but they usually knew what he was thinking before he did. Mostly he’d tried not to think too much about it, besides his worry for Wanda. He was retired, his thoughts didn’t matter, he wasn’t even being asked to sign. 

Things were going sideways now though, lines being drawn, blood spilt, bodies on the ground. If he’d been a betting man he would have won when looking at his phone revealed Cap’s number. He figured Tony wouldn't think to call him, Tony had never been particularly impressed with his skill set. He knew Nat wouldn’t call, she and Laura were in agreement on him needing to be home. While he’d been happy to leave active status, he wasn’t as sure as they were that he was ready to be done doing dumb shit, but it was impossible to argue with both of them. Steve though, Steve would feel guilty but he’d still call. No one believed in teamwork like Cap did, he valued having people he trusted at his back. 

Clint took a breath before answering, he knew what was coming but he hadn't made up his mind on how he was gonna answer. He knew logically he should stay out of this mess, but how did you say no when Captain America asked for help?

“Hey there Cap.”

“Clint, thank you for answering, I wasn't sure you were going to, and I wouldn't have blamed you if you hadn't.” He sounded like the sincere, honest man Clint knew him to be, but Clint also knew being sincere did not always mean being right. 

“Well I figure the least I can do is hear you out.” Clint didn't bother to try for enthusiastic.

“I hate to ask Clint, but I need to. I need your help, Bucky didn't set off that bomb and we’ve got a lead on something much worse. We need to move quickly. If you think about it, you’ll know it's the right thing to do.”

Clint tuned out at this point, thinking about that bit, _the right thing to do._ What was that really? Did the logic or well thought out arguments and counter arguments even matter? He had never been one to make decisions with his head, he trusted his gut more.

It had been his gut that told him to turn down the Swordsman when he asked Clint to join him. Yeah that had left him in a ditch full of arrows, but it had been the _right_ thing to do. He may have lived a life in the grey but he had no interest in being a thief. He didn't want to live off of the suffering of others. 

Working for shady organizations hadn’t been great, but what else did you do with a skill set like his? However, when one particular job in Chicago went south, the smart thing would have been to just cut his losses and run. But that day he made a purely emotional decision and risked everything to help a young woman. She had probably started out in love, but was now trapped, tied to the mob boss who didn’t want her leaving with his son. Clint got her out, this time getting a broken nose for his efforts; she hadn't been pleased when he tried to grab the kid off her hip and had a mean left hook. But really that had worked out in the long run, Laura and the kids were the best things in his life. 

If he’d been thinking with his head there was no way he would have said yes to the one eyed guy with a serious leather fetish. There were plenty of ways to go straight, with far less personal risk and jobs with way less moral ambiguity. But he was used to being in the grey, and Fury had been willing to make all sorts of promises about protecting Laura and Cooper. And yeah, Shield turned out to be Hydra, but trusting Fury had been the right call. 

When he'd been given the kill order on a Black Widow he didn’t think about it too much. It took some doing but he got her in his sights. She was bruised head to toe, bleeding, and exhausted, but she just tipped her head back and looked him in the eye. His gut told him she just needed a chance to be something other than whatever it was they’d made her into. So he made a call, lowered his bow, and brought her in. 

That was what he did, trust his instincts. People would ask how he did the calculations so fast when making his impossible shots. They could never understand. It wasn’t math, it was instinct. So far it had worked out, in the long run at least. He had always seen better from a distance.

He pulled himself back into the present. Cap was still monologuing, and while Cap always gave a good speech, Clint wasn't too interested in what he had to say. His gut was telling him leaving Wanda tucked away “ _for her protection”_ was wrong, and that Steve was right about his friend. He didn't like going against Nat, but she knew how he made his decisions and he knew hers were much more calculated. He could never pin down her real motivations, but he trusted her. 

“Fuck, Laura is going to be pissed.” There was a pause, but Clint didn't wait for Cap to recover from the sudden interruption, “So I’ll go get Wanda, anything else you need me to pick up on my way to you boss?”

“Umm , yeah actually, there's this guy Sam knows.”


	2. Getting Wanda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He flashed his patented _don't worry I’ve got this_ grin. “We’ve got to make a pit stop on the way to Cap and gang.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks go to Rachael, Arcee and Hrafnsvaengr for the beta, you guys are the best!

Wanda wasn't exactly talkative during the drive to JFK. That was okay though, Clint had a sniper's patience, he didn’t mind traveling in silence. Once they got there though she came out of her quiet self-reflection and looked around, as if for the first time since she had taken Vision down, wondering what came next. 

“The airport?” her question did that lovely tilt at the end, telling Clint just how ridiculous she thought this plan was. 

“Uh yeah, you got a quinjet laying around? And I don't fancy driving to San Fran, do you?”

“San Francisco, why are we going there?”

“Again with the tone, don't you trust me Wanda?”

“Just answer the question Barton.” she leveled a look at him while he got his ticket from the machine for long term parking.

He flashed his patented _don't worry I’ve got this_ grin. “We’ve got to make a pit stop on the way to Cap and gang.”

“I thought they were in Germany, California is the wrong way. And how do you intend to fly commercial, I do not have a passport with me?” 

Clint just chucked as he climbed out of the nondescript sedan. “Aww, have a little faith, I’m a professional.”

She just snorted and followed him to the trunk, watching skeptically while he riffled through the contents. Right there in the parking garage he pulled off his tac gear and exchanged it for T-shirt and jeans. Wanda just sighed, she didn't have to know Clinton very long to get acquainted with his complete lack of self-consciousness. She couldn't even begin to count the number of times she's seen him in his boxers.

“Okay, so we need to pick up a guy for Cap, then get to Germany. Like I said, no quinjet, but we don't have time for coach. Luckily, I know a guy with a jet. It'll cut the time in half, but we still gotta go through an actual airport.”

“Clint, I told you I don't have a passport **.”**

“Geez you really don't trust me do you, I told you I'm a professional.” To emphasize this faintly ridiculous statement he pulled out an envelope and tossed it in her direction. Wanda opened it to reveal a whole set of documents for a “Sara Miller” with her picture on them.

“You just have fake papers for me lying around?” 

“Uh, yeah? You never know right?”

“These look real,” Wanda begrudgingly admitted as she flipped through the stack, “did Tony make them?” 

Clint laughed. “Kid, Tony might be able to afford this kind of quality, but he is no forger.” 

“Did you make them?”

“Naw, I may be able to slap something decent together in a pinch, but for you, only the best would do.”

“How did you afford the best?” Wanda's tone of disbelief returned.

Clint had finished stowing all his gear, tossed his bag over his shoulder, and shut the trunk, “A year of foot massages.”

He couldn't help but laugh at her baffled expression, “Come on.” She followed as he started walking toward the terminals, “You should be flattered, foot massages aside, Laura doesn't come out of retirement for just anyone.”

“Wait, Laura as in Laura your wife Laura?”

“You know you just said her name three times, be careful or she’ll pop up and want to make sure you had breakfast.”

They had reached the entrance, Clint continued to lead the way. It was after midnight at this point but there was still quite a few people about. Wanda did her best to keep her head down and stick close to Clint. She wasn’t exactly a wanted criminal but she felt like everyone was looking at her, as if they could tell she was a some sort of thing. A monster. 

“You do know it’s the most important meal of the day right? Breakfast that is. Laura and Nat will be all over me if I let you run a mission on low blood sugar.” Wanda was a little baffled by Clint, but she let his rambling wash over her and calm her nerves. “Don’t worry I’ve got power bars in my bag, hopefully there's some chow on the plane, you're gonna want to get some sleep too. But if you can't sleep no worries, I’ve got all the _Harry Potter_ books on my tablet.”

Somehow they made it through security, Clint barely pausing his tirade on how hufflepuff was underrated, and all the way onto a jet standing by for a “Matthew Lewis”. 

“Is this some spy technique Natasha hasn't taught me yet?” Wada finally interjected in Clint’s raving on how Neville would have been a far superior chosen one. 

Clint finally stopped talking to smile at her, “Naw, but you finally look annoyed instead of terrified.” 

She wasn't sure what to say in response to that, but didn't need to worry because he turned away to confer with the pilot. She decided to find a seat and buckle in. A few minutes later Clint joined her and the plane began to move. There was silence between them as the plane took off, Wanda looking out the window, Clint digging through his bag. 

“Here, eat, then rest.” He poked her in the arm with a protein bar, “We’ve got three hours till we touch down, I’ll wake you when we get there.”

“You still haven't told me why we're going to San Francisco.”

“Gotta grab some bug guy for Cap.”

“A bug guy?” If she’d sounded sceptical before over Clint’s claims of being a professional it was nothing compared to now.

“I don’t know, I just do as I’m told.” There was only a brief pause before he caved in the face of her glare. “Okay, so no, I pretty much never do as I'm told. Look, he’s apparently got some legit tech, and I heard he kicked Sam’s ass, but I didn't tell you that.” 

“Whatever.” Wanda tore open the packaging on the protein bar and sunk deeper into her seat. “Give me your tablet, I want to know more about this Neville.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm [mollynoble](http://mollynoble.tumblr.com/) over at tumblr, feel free to come by and love Clint Barton with me.


End file.
